Taber (Alberta) - A tornado has reportedly hit eight kilometres south of Taber.
The touching down of the funnel cloud came about 30 minutes after Environment Canada issued a tornado warning for southern Alberta.
The "critical alert" for a possible tornado near Lethbridge County was issued at 8:23 p.m. after a fast-moving thunderstorm reached the area.
"Doppler radar is tracking a rotating severe thunderstorm ten kilometres north of Raymond moving north at 55 km/h. This a dangerous storm is likely producing very large hail and may produce a tornado over the next 30 minutes," the alert says.
The agency is encouraging people in those areas to take shelter in a basement or reinforced structure should a tornado develop.
"Get low and put as many walls between you and the storm as possible. Stay away from windows, doors and outside walls. If you are on the highway and cannot avoid the tornado, seek shelter in a ditch or ravine."
The warning comes after Environment Canada issued a severe weather watch for portions of the province.
Parts of southern Alberta, including Cypress Hills, Lethbridge and Fort Macleod, were under tornado watch while farther north, Strathmore and the Okotoks were under thunderstorm watches.
Rural municipalities were placed under a severe thunderstorm watch around 7:30 p.m.
Environment Canada is also warning that thunderstorms can produce large hail.
By Wednesday night, 50 to 80 millimetres of rainfall is expected across the region.
The inclement weather developed over Montana, with reports of severe wind and hail, as well as a tornado report, according to Environment Canada meteorologist Heather Rombough.
"It was quite a bit south of the border for now," she said around 7 p.m.
The most severe weather cell was expected to hit Alberta at around 10 p.m. Tuesday and could stick around until after midnight.
"There are some thunderstorms moving into southwestern Alberta right now, but it’s mainly bringing a fair bit of rain and lightning right now," Rombough said. "We haven’t actually have had any severe weather reports in Alberta.
"There is quite a bit activity in western Montana and there are thunderstorms that will continue to move into southern Alberta this evening."
The severe weather cells should stay south of Calgary, Rombough said.
The western edge of the province, from Grande Prairie to the Crowsnest Pass, except for Banff and Jasper, was under rainfall warnings.
Due to the increased rainfall, Alberta Emergency Alert has a high stream flow advisory for rivers along the Eastern Slopes from Waterton Lakes National Park north to the Grande Prairie region.
No major flooding is expected, but water are levels are rising or expected to rise rapidly.
The touching down of the funnel cloud came about 30 minutes after Environment Canada issued a tornado warning for southern Alberta.
The "critical alert" for a possible tornado near Lethbridge County was issued at 8:23 p.m. after a fast-moving thunderstorm reached the area.
"Doppler radar is tracking a rotating severe thunderstorm ten kilometres north of Raymond moving north at 55 km/h. This a dangerous storm is likely producing very large hail and may produce a tornado over the next 30 minutes," the alert says.
The agency is encouraging people in those areas to take shelter in a basement or reinforced structure should a tornado develop.
"Get low and put as many walls between you and the storm as possible. Stay away from windows, doors and outside walls. If you are on the highway and cannot avoid the tornado, seek shelter in a ditch or ravine."
The warning comes after Environment Canada issued a severe weather watch for portions of the province.
Parts of southern Alberta, including Cypress Hills, Lethbridge and Fort Macleod, were under tornado watch while farther north, Strathmore and the Okotoks were under thunderstorm watches.
Rural municipalities were placed under a severe thunderstorm watch around 7:30 p.m.
Environment Canada is also warning that thunderstorms can produce large hail.
By Wednesday night, 50 to 80 millimetres of rainfall is expected across the region.
The inclement weather developed over Montana, with reports of severe wind and hail, as well as a tornado report, according to Environment Canada meteorologist Heather Rombough.
"It was quite a bit south of the border for now," she said around 7 p.m.
The most severe weather cell was expected to hit Alberta at around 10 p.m. Tuesday and could stick around until after midnight.
"There are some thunderstorms moving into southwestern Alberta right now, but it’s mainly bringing a fair bit of rain and lightning right now," Rombough said. "We haven’t actually have had any severe weather reports in Alberta.
"There is quite a bit activity in western Montana and there are thunderstorms that will continue to move into southern Alberta this evening."
The severe weather cells should stay south of Calgary, Rombough said.
The western edge of the province, from Grande Prairie to the Crowsnest Pass, except for Banff and Jasper, was under rainfall warnings.
Due to the increased rainfall, Alberta Emergency Alert has a high stream flow advisory for rivers along the Eastern Slopes from Waterton Lakes National Park north to the Grande Prairie region.
No major flooding is expected, but water are levels are rising or expected to rise rapidly.
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